October 21, 2010

Despite coming from the opposite side of the idealogical isle (note: Not conservative..), I actually like Juan. Despite making me cringe when he attacks the Right, and defends the Left, I feel like he is trying to make it all work somehow. As opposed to most talking heads that are more fashion (e.g. image) conscious.

It seems to me that Juan is the perfect guy to have on NPR; someone who gives them a little intellectual credibility, but whose views sit squarely on the Left.

So I was shocked about him getting fired. My personal opinion? I think he was fired because he gives cover to those horrible people over a Fox News. Not only is he a minority Democrate liberal providing the 'balance' part of the 'Fair and Balanced', but he will actually occasionally side with some of the Fox Righties.

Depending on how political one is, one may feel the above unforgivable.

What about his horrific statement about Muslims? Hmmmm.. I don't think he made one... He made a statement about how *he* feels sometimes, which is basically accepting responsibility for what I'm sure he considers an unreasonable feeling. His next statement about Tim McVeigh confirms this.

So until someone comes up with more, my feeling is that NPR just became much more politicized. Hopefully Juan stays away from that poison, and removes his legitimizing presence.

About Kurtz' take

First, interesting bomb to drop:

"It’s no secret that some NPR folks have been uncomfortable with Williams’ role on Fox News, where he’s also a part-time commentator. Last year, Politico reported, NPR tried to persuade its White House correspondent, Mara Liasson, to give up her Fox gig."

Wow! Why would NPR be uncomfortable with this? It wouldn't be news if NPR perhaps disagreed with their perhaps moderated opinions.. Or even if they didn't want them to be on *any* network. But to be uncomfortable because they are on Fox... It shows both bias (Fox, as opposed to ABC?), and politicization. Is this not news???

"Is that blaming all Muslims for the actions of a few extremists? Sure. But Williams was describing his feelings, not saying that Muslims should be singled out for profiling or otherwise discriminated against."

This sentence does not make sense. If Juan isn't singling out Muslims, then how is he blaming all muslims?

"Again, I’m not endorsing what Juan Williams said. They contain a strong hint of intolerance."

Au Contrair -- Juan has gone out of his way to sound very tolerant.

I think what Kurtz meant to say was that he, like Juan, doesn't agree that he should be afraid of someone just because he is Muslim.

Juan, I've got your back. Ummm.. Well... At least with respect to the unfairness of the coverage, even from other people I tend to like. Like Kurtz.